Getting to Know the Major Arcana: The Fool's Journey

We're all familiar with the Death card, The Lovers, The Devil... the major arcana tap into the subconscious rapidly with their archetypal imagery. It's no surprise then that these are the cards that make tarot, well, the tarot.

Even if you have no working knowledge of the tarot you can already sense the importance of this group of cards. The majors point to large events and the deep transformation that we undertake as we travel through life. They're the stages of our personal development, our role-models, hang-ups, and challenges.

Starting with card zero, The Fool, the majors chart a journey of self-discovery known aptly as "the Fool's journey." As the main character of the major arcana so to speak, The Fool travels through each of the remaining 21 cards, experiencing each one and assimilating their lessons. Once he reaches the end he doesn't rest, however. He simply begins again, continuing to interact with each card on a higher level. The Fool's journey is never truly over just as we never truly stop growing.

Explore Major Arcana Card Meanings

We can divide The Fool's journey into three stages with seven cards each.

Stage one, from The Magicians to The Chariot, represents our social self.

This is the time when we experiment with identity and our relationships with others, navigating our power (The Magician) the pros and cons of structure (The Emperor), our connection with sensuality and relationships (The Empress) and our intution (The High Priestess.) This is a time where we interact deeply with the archetypes of the mother, father, lover, emperor, priest, and priestess, among others.

The guiding questions are "who am I?" and "how do I fit into the world?"

Stage two, from Strength to Temperance, opens things up to a moral realm where we must confront how our actions influence others.

Here we grapple with ethics and difficult questions. Our ideas and values are put to the test and we try out different ways of being - solitude, risk-taking, self-control, and surrendering control.

Key questions during this phase are "What do I believe in?" and "How do I want to be in the world?"

Stage three, from The Devil to The World, opens things up to a cosmic scale.

These cards see us dealing with our spritual identity as we figure out our place in the universe. Yes, it's deep stuff! Our lessons become grander and the boundaries and challenges less clearly defined. We learn to listen to our inner clarion call as well as to follow our spiritual path in whatever form it takes. Dealing with temptation (The Devil) and dramatic misfortune (The Tower) allows us to heal ourselves and amplify our powers on our path towards opening up fully to life (The World.)

Important questions during this time are "What is my greater purpose?" and "How do I open up to the universe?"

We can use the Fool's Journey as a helpful tool for reading majors when they pop up in our spreads. Simply put you our your querent in The Fool's shoes. Note which cards have apeared - they represent stages of the Fool's Journey you or your querent is experiencing. It's a beautiful way of looking at the dance of changes we undertake in our lives and a helpful way to engage with the power of the major arcana. How has The Fool's jounrey inspired and aided your experience with tarot? Please share in the coments below...

It’s the new moon in Aquarius and I’ve just launched the first episode of my new podcast , Open Magic, with the amazing Bri of Tadpole Magic. Our first topic? Intention setting, particularly the ways we can harness intentions to invite in the change and growth we need.

I think I’ve been dragging my feet with this final post on the court cards because I don’t want to be done with my card meaning dictionary! But it’s a new year and the time has come to tackle The Kings once and for all, so let’s get to it.

The Kings are a fascinating group of cards and deal with questions of authority, expertise, and leadership. Like the Queens they are fully in control of their suit and element, having learned to master it after years of study, dedication, and real-life practice.

Queens are having quite a cultural moment now, from the ubiquitous "Yaas Queen" (or Kween, Qween, etc.) to the trend of calling admired celebrities "Queens." And, indeed, who could resist this powerful archetype?

The Queens in tarot share the work of ruling with the Kings. Though they are traditionally gendered as female, they can represent anyone who embodies their energies. As rulers they've mastered their suit but, unlike the Kings, they're more interested in expressing this power creatively rather than authoritatively.

I have such a soft spot for the Knights in tarot. They have so much verve and energy! These are not a group of cards interested in concepts or abstractions. They want to get down and dirty, engaging with life in the hands-on, adventuresome style of someone on a mission. While the Pages are eager students, the Knights might be someone who lists "School of Life and Hard Knocks" on their facebook education section. They want to learn by doing and they're already diving into the task at hand.

Ah, Summer. What a langorous and wonderful season. School's out, work slows down, and people take their vacations. It's a time for enjoying life: delicious food, the joys of swimming, and happy time spent with friends and family.

Ah, the Pages, what a delightful and enthusiastic group of cards! The Pages represent themes of youth, vitality, fascination, learning, and focus. We can think of these cards as the youngsters of tarot. They see the world with fresh eyes and find inspiration naturally and freely.

The Pages remind me of the unbridled obsessions we have as children. For me it was dinosaurs. I loved them. I loved everything about them. I wanted dinosaur toys, dinosaur books, and dinosaur pajamas. We can see this organic excitement and focus in the cards. Each page holds the symbol of his suit. They're drawn to the meaning of each symbol. They want to learn the ins-and-outs. They want to experience it all.

I've been reading a wonderful book by Robert Moss called Sidewalk Oracles: Playing with Signs, Symbols, and Synchronicities in Everyday Life. In it, Moss explores the ways in which we can engage with the world to find meaning, spiritual guidance, and richness. It's a theme that obviously resonates with me, both as a tarot reader and a seeker. Indeed, there are many similarities between Moss' approach and tarot. We use the cards to identify patterns and symbols in our lives. Why not extend this gaze outwards?

It's where all readings start: with a nice shuffle. But how do you do it? This part of reading is so fundamental it often goes unmentioned. And add some tricky elements unique to tarot like the fear of doing it wrong or difficulty maneuvering the larger-than-normal deck and you have a topic that definitely deserves some more attention!

We've all been there before. You've laid out a big, beautiful reading and things are flowing along smoothly. All the cards seem to be telling a wonderful and cohesive story, connecting easily to each other and forming illuminating patterns. And then it happens.

One card just. doesn't. make. sense. The ease and rhythm of your reading is completely thrown off. Where the words once came easily now there's... nothing. What do you do?

This scenario fills a lot of us with fear. Why isn't this card behaving? What can't we see? Why aren't we able to pull on our knowledge to make things clear?